Learn more about Rubs

Rubs
What is a rub? What are the different types of rubs? How can I get started?

Marinades
Learn about the close-cousin of rubs. Marinades and recipes right here!

Buy Ready Rubs
Not ready to create your own? Shop around for the perfect ready rub!

Recipes
Do it yourself. Choose from a variety of rub recipes to try in your kitchen!

Featured Recipes

Aztec Rub
This wet rub is heavy on the cumin and contains liquid smoke to enhance the smokiness of your barbecue.

Herb Turkey Rub
This is a great rub for turkey - any way you plan to cook it. Fresh rosemary seasons the turkey!

Sweet and Hot Fish Rub
Got a couple of boring white fish fillets and want to jazz them up without spending hours in the kitchen?

Mexican Marinade
This is a perfect marinade for practically any meat and any Mexican dish. You get that great lime and cilantro flavor without overpowering the flavor of the meat.

Rub Cook Books

Barbecue! Bible

Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters, and Glazes by Steven Raichlen
Raichlen's latest cookbook offers a lively introduction to such saucy American standbys as Kansas City-style and Texas-style barbecue while paying due respect to such international grill classics as Indian tandoori, Argentinean chimichurri, Korean boolkogi, and Indonesian satay (the recipes for these, by the way, are carefully authentic as well as delicious). The most important lesson Raichlen offers is his careful explanation of the components of great barbecue, which builds upon different layers of flavor. Variously referred to as wet rubs, marinades, cures, bastes, glazes, or slather sauces, these layers are clearly defined and supplemented by dozens of recipes.

"A good sauce or rub or marinade can go a long way toward helping you make superlative barbecue, but in the end, there's no substitute for mastering the basic principles of fire management and heat control – and understanding the difference between barbecuing and grilling."

Bobby Flay's Grill It!

by Bobby Flay, Stephanie Banyas, Sally Jackson
This is the fourth cookbook by Flay dedicated solely to grilling, and over the years he has hosted four different cooking shows also focused on the art of placing meat and veggies upon a backyard flame. So one might excuse the author for having run out of arresting titles (à la, Boy Meets Grill) and for resorting to alphabetical order as a means of structuring his chapters. But what is truly surprising is his sudden and marked lack of preference for cooking with gas instead of charcoal. He then backs up his newfound indifference by never stating which grill might work best for any of these 150 recipes. However, Flay is still the sultan of sauce and the ruler of rub. He creates a Fig–Cabernet Vinegar Glaze for a filet mignon. In the seafood realm, grilled salmon is paired with a Honey-Mustard-Mint Sauce. Vegetarian offerings include Grilled Cremini Mushroom, Fontina, and Arugula Pressed Tacos. And a chapter on fruit provides mouthwatering desserts like Grilled Nectarines with Maple Crème Fraîche. If Flay has less to say than before, he at least does so with a healthy amount of seasoning.

Featuring 100 bold new recipes, along with lots of savvy tips for spicing up your backyard barbecue, this get-the-flavor guide a healthy dose of barbecue passion as it delivers practical advice and great recipes from some of America's best competition barbecue cooks. You get formulas for spicing up chicken, beef, pork, and even seafood, plus plenty of suggestions on equipment, side dishes, and much more.

Discover how to:
Choose the right types of meat, Build a BBQ tool set, Craft your own sauces, Smoke and grill like a pro, Marinate like a master, Choose the perfect time to add sauce, Rub your meat the right way, Whip up fantastic sides, Add flavor with the right fuel, Plan hours (and hours) ahead, Cook low and slow for the best results, Avoid flavoring pitfalls, Turn BBQ leftovers into ambrosia

Dad's Awesome Grilling Book

by Bob Sloan
Bob Sloan offers tasty recipes sage advice and witty reflections in this ultimate tribute to the glory of dads and their grills. He shows how easy it is to transform fresh ingredients into 100 sizzling delicious dishes like Honey-Glazed Spareribs Lamb Burgers and Grilled Sweet Potatoes. Even super-busy dads will run out of excuses with the section on 10 Super-Fast Foolproof Grilling Recipes—perfect for weeknight dinners. In addition to these family-impressing recipes this essential grilling book serves up tips on keeping it simple when it comes to tools how to choose between charcoal and gas and why no one can ever have too many serving dishes.

The Asian Barbecue Book: From Teriyaki to Tandoori

by Alex Skaria
The Asian Barbecue Book is perfect for barbecue enthusiasts looking for exciting new ingredients and techniques to create that perfect hot-off-the-flame meal. It is full of rich, smoky and meaty barbecue dishes, including classic Asian recipes such as Indonesian Satay, Korean Barbecue and Persian Shish Kebabs—and new favorites like Chicken Wings with Hoisin Honey Marinade, Beef Short Ribs with Teriyaki Glazing and Salmon Filet with Miso Marinade.

Introductory sections include barbecuing fundamentals—essential for beginners and a great review for more experienced grillers—as well as dozens of recipes for Asian rubs, glazes, marinades, basting sauces and condiments to liven up your grill and table. Complete with sides, salads and desserts, this treasury of Asian barbecue recipes will be a resource for years to come.

Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book

Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint by Chris Lilly
Winners of the World Championship BBQ Cook-Off for six years in a row and with hundreds of other contest ribbons as well, nobody does barbecue better than Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama. Chris Lilly, executive chef of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q and great-grandson-in-law of Big Bob himself, now passes on the family secrets in this quintessential guide to barbecue.

From dry rubs to glazes and from sauces to slathers, Lilly gives the lowdown on Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q's award-winning seasonings and combinations. You’ll learn the unique flavors of different woods and you’ll get insider tips on creating the right heat—be it in a charcoal grill, home oven, or backyard ground pit. Then, get the scoop on pulled pork, smoked beef brisket, pit-fired poultry, and, of course, ribs.

Complete the feast with sides like red-skin potato salad and black-eyed peas. And surely you’ll want to save room for Lilly’s dessert recipes, such as Big Mama’s Pound Cake. Loaded with succulent photographs, easy-to-follow instructions, and colorful stories, Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book honors the legacy of Big Bob Gibson—and of great barbeque.